Quinoa spaghetti with braised kale

A and I strolled through the farmers market after brunch on Sunday to find the tables piled high with the abundance of fall. The towers of peppers, winter squash, kale and chard were inspiration for meals to come. I’ve been especially aching for some dark leafy greens – sometimes salad greens just don’t cut it. Luckily, I stumbled upon this delicious recipe on Whitney’s blog inspired by Bon Appetit. I had picked up some quinoa spaghetti and was anxious to try it. I quickly made a note of the things I needed to pick up on my way home: lemon, kale, garlic and parmesan. How delightfully simple. Added bonus: I ran into my siiiiiiister in line at the grocery store! Its so fun living in the same neighborhood as your siblings! Post workout, we invited our friend L to stay for dinner, and the three of us chatted while I threw this together. I thought this was excellent (A and L liked it too!) and only found myself wishing there had been more delicious greens to balance out the pasta. Next time, I would double the kale.

1 medium onion, diced (I had a half a large onion in the fridge, and used that instead)

olive oil

1/2 pound spaghetti (quinoa spaghetti for gluten free!)

5 cloves garlic, chopped (more if you fancy. I just noticed the bon appetit recipe calls for 8 – but I was making this on the fly)

1/2 lemon

1 cup parmesan

1 bunch kale (washed, drained, stems and ribs removed, cut crosswise)

In a large pot. Bring water to a boil. Add pasta. In a large skillet, saute onion until translucent. Add garlic, cook over low for 2 minutes. Add kale, cover and stir occasionally. I like my kale a little on the firm side, so I only allowed it to cook for about 7 minutes and then removed it from the heat. Check on pasta. This was my first time cooking with quinoa pasta, so I spent quite a bit of time testing it. When pasta is finally done, drain and return to pan with a little olive oil. Add kale and parmesan and toss well. Finish with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Enjoy!